Do Yourself a Favor and Don't Let the Legend of Lance Armstrong Die

He was regarded as the best best cyclist ever.

He was anointed as one of the best athletes the world has ever seen.

He was Lance Armstrong, a man who started up the Livestrong Foundation for cancer awareness and who was an inspiration to people all over the world.

Now, he is known as Lance Armstrong, the fraud.

Right?

The other day, Lance Armstrong confessed to Oprah Winfrey (nice marketing stunt guys) that he had used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. He admitted that he had started in the mid 1990's, even before he was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer. This confession comes after years of him vehemently denying what we know now to be the cold truth.

Over the years, he was called out on it by former teammates and by the U.S. Anti Doping Agency. Even before his official confession, he was already banned from all competition. Thats how sure everyone was that Armstrong was not honest and that in reality, he had used drugs to help him win his seven historic Tour de France titles. However, he fought hard to the very last minute in denying to have cheated and even had his kids believing it.

Apparently the peak point of his lying was reached when he realized what his lies were doing to his family. In his interview with Oprah, he states that there were two low-points in this whole ordeal that really made him want to come clean. The first one was when he had decided to leave the Livestrong Foundation because of the negative attention his situation was bringing to it and the second one was when he realized how hard his 13-year-old son was defending his father - a father who even has his own son convinced that he had achieved everything without any extra illegal supplements.

Now, just a few days after finally learning what was already suspected by so many people, Lance Armstrong has become the new Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, etc. of his sport. Except, Armstrong was even bigger than those guys. He competed internationally and individually (yes, biking is regarded as a "team sport", but really when you look at it, its just you, the bike, and the mountain, nothing else) and became a household name for not only sports fanatics, but for people struggling with sicknesses and disease, not just cancer.

So, does this mean that Armstrong should be banned for life from ever competing again and be demonized for the rest of his life by fans and newscasters around the world? I, for one, think he deserves another chance.

Follow me after the jump for my reasoning.

I believe that Armstrong fought too hard to achieve everything he has to this day for it all to be taken away just like that. And no, I am not talking about his sponsorships, his titles, or even his position with the Livestrong Foundation. All of those have a right to be taken from him because no matter how you may look it it, he did cheat.However, the icon that is Lance Armstrong deserves to live on. Obviously, it will not be as strong and influential today as it was before he admitted to doping, but nevertheless, this man has fought enough battles to be given a second chance.

When you look at it from an athletes point of view, it seems like he deserves nothing he ever accomplished and all the negativity that is about to come his way. As an athlete, you may also believe that he should be banished from all competition forever. Now, put yourself into his opponents shoes, and try to convince yourself that that statement should be enforced. Why is it more difficult now? Oh thats right, because his opponents doped too.

See, the cycling world has taken the biggest hit through all of this because the biggest athlete in the sport has finally admitted that he's achieved everything with the help of PED's. Yet, before him, his own teammates and former title winners admitted to having cheated too. What happened to them? They were also stripped of their medals, banned for a few months, and are free to compete again.

Do you see where I am going with this? Everyone was doing it. The fact that everyone was on equal terms because they were all using PED's just shows you that Armstrong was still better than his counterparts. It does not make it OK by any means, but to ignore the fact that most of these cyclists were still on even terms is a mistake.

Secondly, I personally have a soft spot for cancer patients. I know enough about the decease and what it can do to people that I find it easier to sympathize for them no matter how cruel that person may end up being. I do not think that just because you survived cancer you should be hailed a hero, no. But I do believe that if you have had cancer, and you give it all you got to go out and try to act as a role model for the people around you and give them hope that anyone can beat this and then return to their prime, you deserve to receive some praise.

Cancer does not only take a physical toll on your body, but a mental one too. To see Armstrong have the mental strength to keep on pushing himself and winning after defeating a disease that gave him a 50% chance of survival is respectable enough. Remember, it's not only the body that has to function well, but the mind too (Sports Psychology 101).

And finally, what about all of his efforts for the Livestrong Foundation. What have other cheaters in the sport done that outside of it that can be compared to what Armstrong has accomplished? For years, people have believed in this charity and its mission. It has helped spread cancer awareness around the globe and I am sure most of you at one point or another have owned a Livestrong bracelet. Armstrong deserves all the credit he gets for starting that up.

You may say that he used cancer to help build his brand, and that is hard to deny. But he also used cancer to show others that nothing can stop him and it should not stop them. He brought people hope and he was a hero in their eyes. To throw that all away because he admitted to doing what others in his sport have been doing as well is silly. Take away his sponsors, reduce his role with the Livestrong Foundation, rightfully accuse him of being a liar, and be angry with him for days, weeks, months, and maybe even years. But in the end when all is said and done, do yourself a favor and don't let the legend of Lance Armstrong die.

Because he was once the best cyclist ever.

Because he was once anointed as the best athlete in the world.

Because he was Lance Armstrong, a man who started up the Livestrong Foundation for cancer awareness and who was an inspiration to people all over the world.

Because even after admitting to have cheated, like most people around him did, he still had that fire in him to keep on competing and proving to himself and everyone around him that he can conquer anything, just like he did when he had to beat the lowly odds of survival in his most fragile state.